Site Mobile Navigation

Google Acquires Another Piece of the Tablet Puzzle

This week, Google took another step toward bringing its popular Web tools onto a myriad of nontraditional computing devices like tablet computers. It acquired a mysterious Silicon Valley start-up called Agnilux. PEHub first reported the acquisition on Tuesday; a price was not disclosed.

We’ve had our sights set on Agnilux for awhile, and despite our unannounced visit to its San Jose offices earlier this year, discovered little other than its fascinating pedigree. The super-secretive Agnilux is run by employees who once designed custom silicon chips at PA Semiconductor, which was acquired by Apple in 2008. But then some PA Semi employees left Apple to create Agnilux, over what in some cases appeared to be compensation issues.

Now Agnilux’s expertise is coming into sharper focus. A person familiar with the deal said Google acquired the firm not for silicon expertise or to build actual hardware, but for help with porting Google platforms like its Chrome and Android operating systems onto other devices – like tablets, or possibly even television set-top boxes. “These are systems guys focusing on hardware-software integration,” this person said. “It’s not chip design. It’s getting software platforms to work on different kinds of hardware with lots of obscure back-end technologies.”

One particular piece of expertise within Agnilux, said a second person familiar with the company, is “modular semi technology that allows you to regulate power more efficiently on the tablet form factor.” In other words, Agnilux technology could help Google run its software platforms on tablets without draining the battery.

This person said that for the last few months before the Google deal, Agnilux had been visiting Silicon Valley companies seeking investment or partnership opportunities.